


Full Circle

by madamoiselle_sica



Category: RWBY
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Post Salem War, finding a new gig
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-17
Updated: 2021-03-17
Packaged: 2021-03-25 19:48:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,471
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30094236
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/madamoiselle_sica/pseuds/madamoiselle_sica
Summary: Clover is looking for a new career and when he can't find one, a career find him.
Relationships: Qrow Branwen/Clover Ebi
Comments: 3
Kudos: 22





	Full Circle

**Author's Note:**

  * For [synvamp](https://archiveofourown.org/users/synvamp/gifts).



> To my dear [SynVamp](https://archiveofourown.org/users/synvamp) who has helped support me as a new fanfic writer. The FG fandom wouldn't be the same without you. Enjoy!

Clover was bored. He had been living in Patch with Qrow for over six months now, after the war had ended. Salem had been defeated. Oscar had been left to live his own life without Ozpin. And the kids had spent some time here together to decompress and relax for the first time in a long time. The grief was real but the rewards for those that survived and for the whole of Remnant was more than they had bargained for. They were heroes known world wide and all they wanted was to be left alone so that they could go back to being teenagers again. A bit jaded, a lot wiser than their years, and many times underestimated but living their life the best way that they could.

If only Clover could feel like he was part of it.

He had helped with all of them, picking up the pieces since he was mostly looking in from the outside, since Qrow and him were not as well known as all of the kids. And that was fine by him. Give him the protective roll any day and he would be there. And the kids appreciated it. They had called him ‘Uncle’ for over a year now. But like all kids, they all moved on with their lives, which made him feel useless with how empty the house was now.

Qrow was still recovering from some pretty substantial injuries during the final battle but even he was doing much better. Clover had considered taking on a part time job but every time he tried, it seemed like something always came up with one of the kids or Qrow, so he became unreliable. So he had stopped trying. 

But now the house was eerily quiet. And Clover needed to figure out what he was going to do with his life now that the status quo had changed.

He looked for Huntsman jobs but ALL of them required a two man team or more, as there was a policy to not let anyone work alone for fear of losing anyone which could be prevented. A policy that the kids had insisted on and the kingdoms agreed. 

But Qrow wasn’t back up to par to take on jobs just yet. He was getting close, as they would spar nearly every day but there were still weaknesses that Qrow complained about that were just worrying enough that the doctors wouldn’t clear him just yet.

So here he was stuck trying to find something to do with his time until they could take on grim again. Tai mentioned that Signal could always use help but he wasn’t sure that he was ready to take on the younger kids, especially with his own PTSD and the therapy that he and Qrow were receiving together and separately. He had no interest in scaring a child all because of his own issues.

After staring at his scroll and not seeing the jobs that he couldn’t take, he decided that it was better to get moving again than get stuck on his ass like he had during the past week.

He grabbed Kingfisher, placed it on his hip and headed out the door. His feet lead him through the small town that was the only main city like area on the island. As he walked through town he said hi to all of the people he had grown to know. At the end of the main road was the pier, where there was a ferry leaving for Vale in the next ten minutes. So for the hell of it, he boarded and headed to the mainland. Maybe this would give him some perspective.

As the ferry set off he stared out at the ocean. It was beautiful. He loved the water. There was a pond on Tai’s property and he loved to spend time fishing or swimming there. It was always so relaxing. But this. He missed this. The open ocean. There was just something special about it and nostalgic. He had almost been born on the water. His mother had told him that they had just barely made it to shore, since there was no pier or dock in sight. But he was born just off the water. His mother had said that she didn’t have a name picked out since he wasn’t due for another month and as he laid on her chest, she realized that she was laying among the wild red clover that grew on the beach where she rested. And it was at that moment that she decided to name him after the wild flower that she now laid with. 

He had loved that story as a child. He was a child of the water and he practically lived on a boat for most of his formative years. It wasn’t until his father passed that they stopped fishing regularly. 

How did I forget this?

But his choices dictated the change in his lifestyle. First he decided to go to Sanctum Academy followed by Atlas Academy, after his mother had passed. His life was anything but a cake walk but there were a lot of good things despite the sadness.

He remembered falling in love for the first time and how it had ended in tragedy. It always seemed like he was the one who survived and everyone else had the bad luck. Like he had somehow stolen all of the good luck around him. He and Qrow had many discussions about their semblances over the years and it was nice to see a different take on it from each of their perspectives. Qrow seeing his bad luck touch others and seeking to remove himself from their lives to avoid negatively impacting them, while Clover had done some of the same to prevent from stealing luck from others and to protect himself from those who would only seek to use him for his luck or assumed he obtained his status and abilities from his luck. It was a unique idea to think that luck was so simple. It was also not something that either of them would have suspected would have come with so many side effects and yet they were living proof of that.

He eventually got help and learned how to channel his semblance from another passive semblance user, which made his opinions regarding his semblance better. With the help of a counselor, he learned to ignore the naysayers who would dismiss his abilities and achievements as luck and learned how to read those with intentions to use him for his semblance. This trend led to a lot of OCD tendencies since he didn’t want to be left to the will of others. 

All of that changed when he met Qrow. Qrow would often say how much his life changed when he met Clover, but the reality was, Qrow had already made changes before they met. It was just serendipitous that they met shortly after he had made active decisions to be better.

Clover felt that it was the other way around. Clover had made no changes in his life until after Qrow and the kids arrived. They made him think differently about teams and how they learned to utilize their weaknesses and make do with what they had. The energy and spirit that these two teams had, even after overwhelming loss was…indescribable. 

Clover made an effort to get to know Qrow, especially after he learned that they had opposing semblances. It hadn’t surprised him as much as it had Qrow, clearly but Ironwood had hinted at it after assigning Clover to work with him. 

And now here they were. Dating and living together. Taking care of kids and a house. It was so domestic and idealistic. And as much as he loved the quiet compared to a war, he needed something to keep his mind active.

As the ferry came to a halt at the dock, he was jarred from his musings of the past. And present. 

He looked up as he stepped off the boat and was greeted by a beautiful sight. The hillsides were covered in red clover. It was everywhere. And as he looked around the pier, he saw dozens upon dozens of fishing boats of various sizes. Some coming in with a catch, some heading out and a few unmanned just bobbling on the water. 

He gazed longingly at the boats that had been so much a huge part of his upbringing. He wandered up to one of the boats floating idley nearby. It looked in very good shape but it seemed to be untouched by any of the nearby fishermen, which was odd, considering how it was easily the largest boat in the harbor.

As he started at the boat, someone bumped into him.

“Sorry about that.”

“No, I’m the one who doesn’t belong here. This is quite an operation you have here.”

“Yeah. For generations this port has been a huge source of food for the people in Vale. Hard not to get things right when you have decades to figure them out. Now even more so, since there are less grimm in the oceans to contend with. The fish are flourishing and it is making fishing easier.”

“That’s good to know.” The man looked down at Kingfisher at Clover's hip.

“You fish?”

“Yeah but just out of practice. I haven’t had the chance in more recent years.”

“Too bad. We could really use a few more good workers.” He pointed at the boat that Clover was standing in front of. “Take her, for instance. The captain got injured just last week and without them, the crew can’t take the boat out. The captain is so stubborn and won’t let their second take temporary command. Something about not trusting anyone but a trained huntsman. It’s just a shame because that is income that they are all missing out on.”

“Really?” Clover looked a little closer at the boat again. She was a beauty. It was almost like she was calling to him. “I happen to know a huntsman who might be up for the job. Can you give me the captains contact info?”

“Sure. Anything to try and get our best boat back in on the ocean.” The man pulled out his scroll and sent him the info. “Azure’s the name by the way.”

“Clover. Nice to meet you.” Clover reached out and shook his hand.

“You too. Anything you can do to get her up and running would be greatly appreciated.”

Clover waved goodbye to Azure as he continued on his way. Clover gazed back at the boat that he so longed to board. He kneeled down and touched bow. “I’ll be back for you as soon as I can.”

Clover called the injured captain and they picked up immediately. 

“What do you want?” A snide but mid range voice replied.

“Hello. My name is Clover Ebi and I was informed that you are looking for a huntsman to temporarily captain your fishing boat.”

\---------------------

After talking for a few minutes, Marlin was intrigued by his offer and they insisted on meeting with him before they would even consider his proposal. So he headed into a residential section of town and climbed a few steps to knock on a front door. He was greeted by a teenage boy. 

“We were expecting you. They are in the dining room.”

“Thank you.” He followed the boy into the house and around the corner to the dinning room to see Marlin sitting at table.

“Well awe be damned! Ya are the true article. How'd the hell d'ya find me of all people?”

“I’m sorry I don’t understand.”

“Ya helped win the damned war. Don’t ya go and deny it. I looked ya up.”

“I suppose that’s fair since I want to take command of your boat. I found your boat idle in the harbor and Azure told me that you had been injured. Anything else you would like to know that you may not find in your search?”

“Why're ya here verse in Atlas? Seem like they would'a easily offered ya General or Headmaster or someth'n if ya had wanted.”

“You are correct, I could have had either of those rolls but I had something else I wanted more.”

“Ya found love. I respect that. I assume that they live around here.”

“On Patch, actually.”

“Look at that. Hero of Remnant and modest to boot. Ya don’t find that a' often now that the war ended.”

“Anything else or are you just going to interrogate me and then send me packing?”

“Well, I was hopin' to have ya sign some of these here documents and then give ya the key ta my boat but if ya don’t wanna….”

“Really? I was expecting more….”

“More a' what?”

“An interview or something. I didn’t expect this to be that simple.”

“Says the guy with the luck semblance.” Clover’s expression turned sour. “Don’t mean no disrespect but ya'r call was da interview and my search on ya'r record was da background check. All ya had t' do was show up. But I will say this. That would'a been true for any hunter who'd called me, as long as the call went well. I would'a done the same for them, not just ya.”

Clover’s expression softened as they spoke. “Thank you.”

“If anything, ya’re going to need that there luck of ya'rs to wrangle my crew. They'r a bit rough 'round the edges but they'd a good job. I just sent their contact info to ya and messaged them all that ya were takin' over for a few months until the docs gimme the all clear. Stupid cat.”

Clover started to ask what happened but decided better of it as he focused on the paperwork in front of him. Nearly everywhere outside of Atlas tended toward paper versus digital media. After being away for nearly two years, it was no surprise to see it being used here. He had to sign for a temporary fishing license, a temporary transfer of captain of their boat by the name….that can’t be right.

“This here says the boat’s name is Marion.”

“Yes and she's one 'mazing boat. Best'n the whole harb'r. You're a gonna to love her.”

Clover just chuckled to himself and shook his head. The “star of the sea” was just a little on the nose for a boat as big and pretty as she was. It was just a coincidence that it was also his mother's name. He filled out a few more forms and then headed back to the dock so he could turn them in, with the key to Marion in hand.

Azure was the manager of the dock and both were a little surprised to be seeing each other again so soon. Clover handed him the paperwork. “What the...How did you...I don’t care, this is GREAT!!!”

He rang the large bell and grabbed a cone shaped electronic device that Clover had never seen before and pointed it towards the rest of the pier.

“The Marion is back in business!!” Clover jumped as the volume of Azure’s voice was amplified.

There were whoops and hollering of all kinds. 

“The temporary Captain is this man here, Captain Ebi!!” Azure pointed at Clover as he spoke.

It brought a smile to his face and tear to his eye as he had not heard that name and title in almost two years. It was strange that he had grown so accustomed to not hearing. No surprise that it caused this response. 

It was a bit full circle. Finding something that he had loved as a kid that connected to him and his family, as well as to his career was more than he could have ever asked for.

\---------

He made his way over to Marion and boarded her. She was stunning and supplied with some of the best fishing equipment that was available. As he took a tour, he called Qrow and showed him what he had found and told him what he had decided to do. Qrow was happy for him, which was no surprise since Clover had been complaining for a while about being idle.

“I can see how happy this has made you. Just take it easy. It’s your first day and it won’t be forever, considering I suspect that Marlin will want their boat back before long. And if Marion is as good of a boat as you describe, then I would want her back too.”

“True. I will take her out for a short run today and then we will see what my plans should be after that.”

“Good. Take care of yourself.”

“You too. Love you babe. See you tonight.”

“Love you too. Later.”

The first mate arrived while he was doing his tour and talking to Qrow. She was clearly not in a good mood.

“Think you can just waltz in here and take over their ship? I still can’t believe that you convinced them. What are you? Some sorta superhero?”

“No. Definitely not. But I am a licensed huntsman, so I suspect that had something to do with it.”

“Really? Damn! I didn’t think that they would find one. And you can fish. Didn’t they just hit the jackpot with you.”

“Well, I don’t want to take too much credit. As much as I know about fishing, this is a bit bigger than I am used to. I haven’t been on a boat like this since I was a kid. That said, I am going to need your help to re-learn the ropes. Do you mind teaching me as we go along?”

“Oh, uh, sure.”

“What?”

“Didn’t expect the new captain to admit to not knowing how to manage the boat.”

“Yeah well, I am not your typical captain.”

“Name’s Evelyn. And you are going to want to start over there.” She pointed to the engine room. "Let me show you how to get her up and running."

\-----------

Soon after Evelyn had taught him about the engine, she had moved on to other aspects that he needed to know, as the rest of the crew arrived slowly during the hour. He knew that they were not going out for a whole day or that they were likely going to get much but he needed to start somewhere. 

They got her out on the sea and headed north. He had introduced himself to the crew and most of them seemed pleased and happy to be back at work. He announced that they would do a short run and see how they worked together. 

He looked around at the open ocean. He had missed this. The open water, the smell, the wind, the sky, it was all coming back to him. Memories buried in his childhood that brought him joy in ways that he couldn’t describe.

They cast their nets and waited. Then pulled in their catch and it was a big one. Despite being out for only half a day, they brought back a day's worth of fish. Maybe his luck was playing a small part in this but he hadn’t channeled it so maybe it was more beginners luck. Either way, the crew was surprised and excited.

They made their way back to the dock and as they passed by the coast of north Saunus, Clover saw more of the red clover on the beach. Evelyn, walked up beside him as he gazed at the beach.

“It’s funny that you are the one staring at that beach of all things.”

“Why is that?”

“It’s named Clover Bay.” 

“Interesting. I think it is pretty obvious why it’s called that.”

“Actually it had a different name before that. There was some woman who named it after the clover but it was much more sparse back then. She apparently gave birth on the shore. Not sure why a pregnant woman was at sea but that is how the story was told to me.”

Clover glanced at her wide eyed and then back at the beach. He never bothered to ask his mother where the beach where he was born had been but now looking at it, he could almost see her there, a ghost of a memory. It surprised him to consider that maybe he had not been born in Argus like he had always thought, but here in Saunus, just north east of Vale. 

Wouldn’t that be something? Born in Saunus, raised in Anima, developed in Atlas and redefined in Vacuo. Now he was rediscovered in Saunus as Captain Ebi once more. Regardless, his parents would be proud of him and how he had lived his life, just like he was.

Loved, happy, healthy and ready to welcome whatever the future would throw at him.


End file.
